From Lymphoma Diagnosis & Treatment to the Wedding Alter with Morgan Lunardi

The time after an engagement is typically filled with excitement, wedding planning, and dreaming about the future. But for Morgan Lunardi and her fiancé, AJ, that exciting chapter quickly took an unexpected turn when Morgan was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.Shortly after their engagement, Morgan began experiencing troubling symptoms, including intense headaches and facial swelling. Scans revealed a 13-centimeter mass in her chest. Because of the tumor’s location, doctors warned that a biopsy could require opening her chest to obtain a sample. As Morgan and AJ traveled to their wedding venue in Cabo to plan their special day, the possibility of such a serious procedure weighed heavily on them.Fortunately, doctors were able to complete the biopsy without opening Morgan’s chest. However, another complication meant she needed to begin chemotherapy a week earlier than planned. With their wedding less than a year away, Morgan decided to try cold capping during treatment in hopes of preserving her hair. The process uses extremely cold temperatures to restrict blood flow to the scalp and reduce hair loss during chemotherapy.Alongside chemotherapy, Morgan also underwent radiation while continuing to work full time and plan her wedding. She shares what it was like to navigate cancer treatment while preparing for one of the biggest days of her life, and how quickly she went from thinking about wedding details to becoming a cancer patient.Throughout her journey, Morgan leaned on other cancer survivors for advice, support, and answers to the questions that came with her diagnosis. Now, she is passionate about paying that support forward by helping others facing cancer, particularly when it comes to navigating treatment, fertility, and cold capping.Today, Morgan is cancer free and living the life she fought so hard to get back to. She and AJ are married and are now the parents of two beautiful daughters.Episode Resources:Oklahoma Proton Centerhttps://www.okcproton.com/https://www.instagram.com/okprotoncenter/https://www.facebook.com/OKProtonCenterThe Cancer Project Podcasthttps://www.instagram.com/the_cancerprojecthttps://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581844363126https://www.tiktok.com/@protonguy